Brisbane's halves have been the biggest victim of criticism after the club's unforgivable 1-3 start to the season, but Darius Boyd now finds himself in the firing line following their 36-4 defeat to the Roosters on Friday night.

The Broncos skipper has copped some serious heat for his effortless attempts in defence to save two separate tries - an Angus Crichton brush of the paint and a James Tedesco break.

Pressure was already on Boyd to pick up his defensive game after being fooled twice in three weeks by dummies thrown by Melbourne prop Jesse Bromwich and Dragons hooker Cameron McInnes.

And now calls for his axing have grown louder after he let Crichton muscle to the try-line without intervening, letting Anthony Milford and Joe Ofahengaue piggy-back the Roosters forward while he watched on flat-footed.

The second incident was even more concerning, simply raising his arms up for a penalty - when no offence had even occurred - as Tedesco casually strolled past and ran a circle around him to score under the posts.

While he may not have been able to stop his opposite number, it was the lack of intensity and effort that has triggered both outrage and disappoinment.

Even Boyd's leadership credentials have come into question after he gave winger Corey Oates a mouthful for not pushing up in attack when one of his cut-out balls hit the deck in a try-scoring opportunity.

Having not put his body on the line previously, Boyd had no right to attack his teammates no matter if Oates was in the wrong or not.

Queensland legend Wally Lewis ripped into the entire side's defensive shambles, blaming their lack of communication which also falls onto the shoulders of their skipper.

“They got absolutely smashed,” Lewis told Macquarie Sports Radio.

“They made a whole pile of mistakes.

“That was sheer embarrassment for them at the end of the evening, I’m sure the coach would’ve had a long talk to the players after the match.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a Brisbane team defend so poorly, it really was quite ordinary.

“You’ve got people in key positions, such as Anthony Milford, he’s not the biggest talker on the field.

“I think that’s probably the biggest problem for them at the moment.

“They just don’t appear to have too much communication at all, and that probably stops them from being able to understand who’s got who where and when in the defensive line.”